


one sip, bad for me

by lolohannah



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternative reunion season 6 (not including 6b plot), F/M, Jackson actually has character growth, Lydia is head over heels in love with the one and only Stiles Stilinski, There is no nauseating physical contact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 03:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12160470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lolohannah/pseuds/lolohannah
Summary: Lydia runs into her ex-boyfriend, Jackson Whittemore, at a coffee shop two years after he left her for London, and a lot has changed in those two years.





	one sip, bad for me

**Author's Note:**

> So this is like a spiritual successor to my fic 'the one that makes me go all night long', but you don't have to read that to understand this, there's just a reference in here to that fic. I wrote this way back in February when we got the news that Jackson was returning in 6b, and in light of some spoilers for the finale that have made fandom very very angry, I decided to clean it up and post it in the hopes that it could make some people a little less angry (it definitely helped me a bit, and I've been furious all day). 
> 
> Back then I was unaware Jackson would be dating Ethan, so there's no reference to that relationship in here, nor any of his story or the general plot of 6b. This is set in the time between Stiles having left for his 'pre-FBI program' and Lydia and Scott leaving for college.
> 
> This is entirely unbeta'ed, so sorry for any mistakes in here.

Lydia’s picking up coffee on the way home when a voice calls out her name in a questioning tone, a voice that she had at one point in her life been very familiar with, a voice she used to love and loathe and at one point, even fear. The voice in question causes her step to falter slightly and her eyes search for the source, they land on the person who the voice belongs to, sat at one of the outside tables.

“Jackson,” Lydia says as she changes her direction and moves towards him. “Hi. Long time, no see.”

Jackson smiles somewhat uncomfortably up at Lydia. “Yeah, I’m just waiting for Danny. I’m back in California for college.” Lydia still stands in front of his table, looking a little unsure of how to handle the interaction with her old high-school boyfriend. “Do you want to sit? Catch up a little?”

“Sure, I can spare a few minutes,” Lydia replies as she gingerly pulls out the chair opposite Jackson and takes a seat. “That’s great, about college, I mean. I’m starting MIT myself in a few weeks.”

Jackson’s eyes bug out slightly, “MIT? That’s…wow.”

Lydia sits up a little straighter and settles into herself, her confidence rising. She’s not the girl that pretends to be dumb to make her obnoxious jock of a boyfriend feel good about himself anymore, she’s Lydia Martin, Beacon Hills survivor and MIT undergrad. “Yeah, I’m starting as a junior.”

He almost does a spit-take with his coffee, coughing slightly. “You’re…okay then. Things have really changed since I’ve been gone,” he shakes his head, trying to wrap his mind around this new information.

“We’re barely scratching the surface of what’s happened while you’ve been gone, Jackson,” Lydia says matter-of-factly as she takes a sip of her coffee and looks out to the street into the thankfully calm Beacon Hills.

Jackson studies her for a moment, studying this young woman that’s so much surer of herself than the girl he left behind years ago. His eyes are drawn to a ring on her hand that’s catching the sunlight, shocked and perplexed he asks, “Is that…a ring?”

Lydia looks back at him and then down at her hand, a cheerful grin instantly appearing on her face. “Oh. Well, I guess it’s sort of a promise ring?” she says bashfully. “Not an engagement ring. Yet. It’s still too early and we’re too young for that. He picked it up spur of the moment during our road trip this summer.”

“He?” Jackson questions, an intrigued smile on his face. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

Lydia puts her coffee down and leans one elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hand and making eye contact with Jackson before she announces simply, like a challenge, “Stiles.”

Jackson explodes, “What? As in, Stilinski?”

“Yep,” the ‘p’ of the word popping as her smile reaches her eyes.

He places both his palms on the table and leans forward. “How did that even happen?”

Lydia leans back in the chair in an effort to gain some distance from him, but she still sighs happily when she thinks about her boyfriend. “Slowly. Amazingly. The ring helps me feel more connected to him despite the distance. I can sense him out there, whether he’s okay or not. It gives me an object to focus my powers on.”

This makes no sense to Jackson, he’s missed too much of their lives to understand. “How? Lydia, what?”

“Oh, did Danny not fill you in?” Lydia realizes that he truly has no idea, despite his best friend having known about the supernatural world before he left Beacon Hills High School. “I’m a banshee.”

“A banshee?” Jackson frowns.

There’s too much for Lydia to explain about what she is and what she can do, so she simplifies it and says, “Yeah, I can sense death. Among other things.”

He’s quiet for a moment as he contemplates this. “Not the weak girl bleeding out on the lacrosse field anymore then, are you Martin?”

Lydia’s blood runs cold, and for a moment she feels like that scared teenager that didn’t know anything about the supernatural, whose boyfriend told her he wouldn’t come and save her every time she screamed, who couldn’t care less when her mind was being manipulated and abused by a psychotic dead werewolf. Lydia’s smile from before has vanished, and she bites back, “I was never weak, Jackson. But it’s good to know that’s how you saw me.” With a glare, she continues, “No, now, I could pretty much blow your head off with just my voice,” and despite the fact she never uses it unless someone is in critical danger, it gives her satisfaction to warn him, “don’t cross me.”

Jackson realizes he’s killed the mood and immediately backtracks, “Sorry,” he actually looks embarrassed and drops his gaze, “when you leave it feels like time just stops. I should know better. I like to think I grew up, I’m sure you all did too.”

Lydia lets her anger simmer, willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. “I think we experienced enough for a few lifetimes over. We may still be teenagers, but we haven’t been young in a long time,” her tone is tinged with sadness, and he picks up on what she’s thinking about.

“I’m sorry about Allison, Danny told me,” he considers reaching out a comforting hand, but considering how awkward things are between them, thinks better of it. He knows how much Lydia loved Allison, how much they all loved her.

“Yeah. I miss her every day, we all do.” She’s tearing the edges of her napkin, not particularly fond of how vulnerable this conversation is making her feel. “But she died saving her friends. She died a hero. Allison sacrificed her life so that we could live,” she sniffs slightly, “so that’s what we do, we live. We live for us, for her, to save others. She has one hell of a legacy.”

“I’m sure she does.” He pauses, not sure if he should ask, “How’s Scott?”

Lydia’s mood brightens imperceptibly. “He’s doing well. He’s starting UC Davis soon, studying to become a vet,” and she has to add, pride seeping into her voice, “oh, and he’s an alpha now.”

Jackson’s mood turns back to shock again. “He’s what?”

Lydia chuckles softly, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard. True alphas are few and far between.”

“True alpha? I really did underestimate that kid.” Jackson takes another sip of his coffee.

“He’s a man now,” Lydia corrects, “probably the best man I know.”

Jackson’s interest is piqued. “Better than your not-fiancé?”

Lydia sees what Jackson’s doing, and she won't rise to the bait. “I love Stiles. He’s everything to me,” she explains, “but Scott’s my alpha. He will stop at nothing to save every single person he can. There’s no one like him.” Lydia smiles. “He inspired me to be a better person. To help people.”

Jackson’s quiet and thoughtful before he says, “Maybe I should talk to him and make amends for all the crap I put him through.”

She tucks some of her hair behind her ear and nods. “I think he’d appreciate that.”

Jackson can’t let the subject drop, needing more information. “I still can’t believe you’re with Stiles. That hyperactive sarcastic lanky little shit? That Stiles?”

Lydia doesn’t have to defend or explain her choices to Jackson anymore, but she will defend someone who’s not here to defend himself. “He’s different, a lot has happened to him.” She’s not going to go into details; Jackson hasn’t earned the right to know. “But at the same time, he’s still the same. So smart, so special, and when he looks at me…” Lydia beams, “…I feel like I can do anything. He’s like the sun, this bright star that breathes life into me. I need him. He knows me, and I know him, the good and the bad, the flaws and the strengths, it just feels…meant to be. In a way it never did before.”

He knows it’s not meant to be cutting, that it’s genuinely how she feels, but it still grates at him and his reply is somewhat cynical, “Ah, true love.”

She doesn’t care that he’s being snarky, it's because he doesn’t understand what she and Stiles have. She doesn’t care if he gets it or not. “Yeah. True love,” she repeats pointedly.

Jackson sighs despondently. “I didn’t treat you well, did I?” He shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Lydia.”

Lydia’s not going to placate him to make him feel better; she needs to be honest, “No, you didn’t. And that messed me up for a long time.” She pauses and sighs. “But I didn’t treat you very well either. It’s water under the bridge. We just weren’t right for each other.”

He looks at her and knows that the young woman sitting in front of him is so different from the girl he left behind; she’s not pretending anymore. “No, we weren’t. It sounds like you’ve found someone who is though.”

Lydia’s phone buzzes with a text from Stiles, asking her how long she’s going to be. “I have. I’m really happy,” she looks up at him, “I hope you are too.”

Not in the same way, but he’s better than he was when he left. “Getting there, maybe. London was good for me, but it’s nice to be back on home soil.”

At that moment, just as the conversation is reaching a natural end, Danny strolls up alongside the table. “Lydia, good to see you. It’s been a long time.”

Lydia stands up from the chair. “Hey Danny, how are you?” she greets as she pulls him into a hug. Once upon a time, he was one of her closest friends, before the pack and the supernatural consumed her life. She's missed him.

“I’m good. Yourself?” he pulls back but leaves a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She smiles. “Really good. But I should get going, I have somewhere to be.” She looks down at her phone again. “Oh, but before I go, can we take a photo, all of us together? I wanna freak Stiles out,” Lydia laughs.

Jackson grins mischievously; he’s not going to pass up a chance to piss off Stilinksi. He rises from his chair and Lydia moves to stand between Jackson and Danny. Lydia holds her phone out in front of them and takes a selfie of them all smiling. She presses a few buttons and smiles wickedly.

“Great. Thanks, guys, take care of yourselves.” Lydia puts her bag on her shoulder and picks up her coffee.

“You too Lydia,” Jackson replies as she turns and begins to leave.

Before she gets too far her phone rings and she immediately picks it up, he can still hear her side of the conversation as she makes her way across the street to her car.

“Stiles. Stiles, slow down and I’ll explain! I ran into him at the coffee shop. Everything’s fine!” Lydia smiles in amusement despite the erratic conversation she appears to be having.

“No, he wasn’t a dick, he was fine. I swear.” Jackson raises his eyebrows, intent to listen as she continues to move further away. “Yes, I get it. Look, I’ll be home in ten and we’ll Skype okay?”

There’s a slight pause and Lydia’s smile turns to exasperation as she raises her voice. “No, you are not getting on a plane just because my ex-boyfriend is in town, you idiot!” Jackson smiles quizzically at Danny, who shrugs. “Because you have class! What is wrong with you?”

Lydia’s unlocking her car but he watches her demeanor soften, Jackson’s werewolf hearing picks up on the quiet but sweet-sounding, “Love you too,” that she says right before she gets in her car, hangs up and drives away.

_Lydia and Stilinski. Who’d have thought it?_

**Author's Note:**

> I may have been overly generous with Jackson's character development when I wrote this considering the Jackson we've seen in 6b. But I like it this way more. I have to find some way not to hate him, and fanfic is the only way to do that haha!
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated! 
> 
> Here's to Teen Wolf, loving it and hating it and everything in between.


End file.
